CRINmail 1495:
The week in children's rights
In this issue:
Sexual violence by peacekeepers against children and other civilians: A practical guide for advocacy
As of 2016, more than 90,000 military personnel serve on peacekeeping operations under a UN mandate. They play a vital role in providing security and help countries make the difficult transition from conflict to peace. Today’s peacekeeping operations also facilitate the political process and support the organisation of elections, assist in the restoring rule of law and the promotion of human rights, while protecting civilians and assisting in disarmament and demobilisation.
The majority abide by the law, but in a number of well-documented cases peacekeepers have perpetrated, or otherwise been implicated in, sexual violence against local civilians, including children. Since the 1990s, sexual violence by UN peacekeepers is known to have occurred in Bosnia, Cambodia, Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Timor Leste, Haiti, Liberia, and South Sudan.
After multiple reports emerged in 2014 of the sexual abuse of children by French soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping operation in CAR, the UN’s response – at all levels up to and including the Secretary-General – was evasive. The hierarchy’s overriding motivation was to punish the official who leaked the information, who was suspended from his job. The need to provide for the welfare of the children affected, which ought to have been the primary consideration, was overlooked. So was the need to hold the perpetrators to account.
Later scrutiny in the media, combined with advocacy by NGOs and from within the UN, prompted an independent review. The report, published in December 2015, found that the UN, UNICEF and others had widely failed in their duty to put human rights first and to protect the best interests of children. Sexual violence remained common in military settings and the risk to children substantial as the number of reported cases rising from 52 in 2014 to 69 in 2015. Most of these cases were in CAR.
The UN has since taken steps to respond. The independent review that followed the abuse in CAR was one of a number of high-level inquiries commissioned during the last decade in response to reports of abuse by peacekeepers.
CRIN acknowledges the progress made, but believes that the steps taken so far fall well short of what is needed to ensure that civilians, and children in particular, will not suffer at the hands of UN peacekeepers again. Due to the complexity of the UN, especially its peacekeeping structures, it can be difficult for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and States to know how to advocate for change. CRIN has been asked by NGOs and some governments to explore what could be done now, and how.
CRIN has developed a guide, intended to act as a tool to support engagement with this issue. This guide makes 10 ‘next steps’ recommendations, each of which would help to safeguard children and other civilians in the long-term. It also suggests how to pursue these recommendations and whom to partner with.
The guide is a work in progress and we welcome feedback on any aspect of it. Please let us know what you think at [email protected].
You can download the full report from our website.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Armed conflict
Juvenile justice
Radicalisation
Children with disabilities
UN news
Harmful traditional practices
Accountability for historic abuses:
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EVENTS
Foster care: International Foster Care 2016 European Conference
Organisation: International Foster Care Organisation
Dates: 1-4 September 2016
Location: Sheffield, UK
Advertising: Child rights based tools for protecting kids from alcohol marketing
Organisation: IOGT International
Dates: 2 September 2016
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Participation: Young Citizens & Society: Fostering Civic Participation
Organisation: University of Strathclyde
Dates: 2-3 September 2016
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Changing Global Perceptions: Child Protection & Bodily Integrity
Organisation: Genital Autonomy
Dates: 14-16 September 2016
Location: Keele, UK
Education: Achieving education for all and eliminating child labour
Organisation: The International Training Centre of the ILO
Dates: 25-30 September 2016
Location: Turin, Italy
Alternative care: International alternative care conference
Organisation: University of Geneva and Institut de droits l’enfant
Event dates: 3-5 October 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Family separation: Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Children Separated From Their Families Across International Borders
Organisation: International Social Service
Event date: 13 October 2016
Location: Maryland, US
Access to justice: National Conference on Child Wellbeing
Organisation: The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society
Dates: 21-22 October 2016
Location: Valletta, Malta
Education: Master of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights
Application deadline: 1 November 2016
Dates: February 2017 – November 2018
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Education in Emergencies
Organisation: HREA
Dates: 2 November-13 December 2016
Location: online (e-learning course)
Children in War and Armed Conflicts
Organisation: HREA
Dates: 2 November-13 December 2016
Location: online (e-learning course)
Right to work: Eliminating child labour and promoting decent work in agriculture
Organisation:The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO)
Dates: 14-18 November 2016
Location: Turin, Italy
Child labour: Developing skills and livelihood training programmes for older children
Organisation: ITCILO
Dates: 21-25 November 2016
Location: Turin, Italy
Education: International Children’s Rights
Application deadline: 1 April 2017 (non-EU) / 15 June 2017 (EU students)
Dates: September 2017 - Summer 2018
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
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EMPLOYMENT
Orchid Project: Chief Operating Officer
Application deadline: Rolling
Location: London, United Kingdom
Center for Reproductive Rights: Global Advocacy Adviser
Application deadline: Rolling
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Consortium for Street Children: CEO
Application deadline: 4 September 2016
Location: London, United Kingdom
European Roma Rights Centre: Communications Intern or Trainee
Application deadline: 7 September 2016
Location: Budapest, Hungary
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Last Word
"The abuses that occurred in CAR in 2014, and the failure of the UN to adequately respond, are the product of a number of underlying, systemic problems: a culture of impunity which turned a blind eye to the criminal actions of individual troops; a fragmented bureaucracy in which staff were concerned with shunting off responsibility and punishing information “leaks”, rather than responding to the abuses or protecting the victims; and a policy framework which failed to acknowledge the UN’s responsibilities where the alleged perpetrators were not under UN command…But to effectively confront sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, creative solutions are required. Now the obligation is on the United Nations and Member States to implement the necessary changes."
- Report of an Independent Review on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by International Peacekeeping Forces in the Central African Republic
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